UK ‘to Issue 2-Yr Visas’ for Kurdistan Businessmen

The spokesman for the Kurdistan Region’s investors said the UK government is planning to issue two-year visas for businessmen from Iraqi Kurdistan, adding that the British government also seeks to open a branch of its banks in the Region as well as introducing assurance [insurance] and consultancy companies.

According to the report from AKnews, the British Ambassador to Iraq, John Jenkins (pictured), led a delegation to Sulaimaniya city on Saturday and met with a number of the contractors and investors in the city, highlighting its economic and industrial advantages.

There are branches of Turkish banks as well as some of the Arab countries in Kurdistan, but no branches of European banks.

The ambassador has reportedly promised to hold a conference for foreign companies working in the Kurdish province in Sulaimaniya in March.

There are 24 British companies in Kurdistan: 22 in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region’s capital, and only two in Sulaimaniya.

Some 18 countries have consulates in the Kurdistan Region. Over 11,000 foreign companies work in the Region, 60% of which are Turkish.